Together
by MrsHJBlack
Summary: It's a day Cal wishes he could forget, but no one knows why, not even Ethan. How much worse can the day get when Cal is sent out to a crash site? And how many secrets will come out? I'm sorry for the bad title.
1. Chapter 1

It's been months since the crash that nearly killed Dr Ethan Hardy, months since his brother, Dr Cal Knight, saved his life, and months since the two of them started learning how to be brothers again.

The day started out like any other in the very busy Holby City Emergency Department, and the two brothers were going through patient files in reception. Ethan turned to Cal. "Hey, are you still coming over this weekend?"

"Yeah, of course," Cal replied. "I promised, didn't I?"

Ethan smiled. "Yeah." He looked at his brother and noticed the look of distraction. "Are you ok?"

Cal looked at him. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm just tired, that's all."

"Ok."

Before either one could say anything else, Mrs Connie Beauchamp walked over. "Dr Knight, a doctor has been requested at a crash site, car vs minibus. I would like to join the paramedics."

"On my way," Cal replied. He turned to Ethan, and passed him his patient files. "Looks like these are yours now, little brother."

Ethan took the files with a frown. "Be careful, Caleb."

Cal smiled at his concern. "I'll be fine," he said, before rushing to get ready.

* * *

Cal arrived at the scene, and was greeted by Iain.

"Joining us are you?" Iain said when he saw him.

"Connie said you needed a doctor, so what have we got?"

"School minibus was hit head-on by the car, whose driver appears to be drunk," Iain began to explain. "The driver of the car has already been taken to the ED. The minibus contained 12 people including the driver and two members of staff. The teacher and most of the kids were relatively unhurt. The worst injuries were to the ones sitting in the front."

"Who were they?" Cal asked as he looked at the wreckage.

"The driver, the teaching assistant and a student. The driver and assistant have already been taken care of and are on the way to hospital, but the young girl is still trapped. She has a puncture wound to her leg, and arm is trapped between the seats."

"How old is she?"

"Five."

"Shit," Cal exclaimed.

"Yeah," Iain agreed. "Her teacher is over there. Can you try and get some information, while I see how long before the fire crew can get her out?"

"Sure," Cal said, before walking over to a scared looking woman. "Excuse me?" The teacher turned and Cal recognised her immediately. "I know you from somewhere, don't I?"

The woman gasped. "Oh god. You're Maddie's uncle, aren't you?"

"You're Maddie's teacher," Cal remembered. "Was she here?"

"I'm sorry," she cried. "She wasn't feeling well, so I let sit at the front."

Cal heard a shout from behind him. "We've got a leak!"

Cal spun around, and ran to the minibus, ignoring the shouts of his name. Cal climbs through the broken window, carefully situates himself next to the injured girl. "Maddie? Can you hear me?" The young girl gave a slight nod. "Can you open your eyes for me?" Maddie slowly did as he asked, and looked up at him. "Hey, Sweetheart. You're gonna be ok." Iain appeared next to him. Cal turned to him. "We need to get her out of here."

Iain nodded. "We need to make sure even more damage won't be done. The fire crew about to start cutting. Keep talking to her and make sure we know all her injuries, whilst I see how bad her leg is."

Cal turned back to Maddie. "Maddie, I'm going to ask you some questions, and I need you to answer honestly, ok?" Maddie nodded. "Do you remember hitting your head?" Nod. "Does it hurt?"

"A little bit," she whispered.

"Does anywhere else, apart from your head, leg and arm hurt?"

"My tummy."

Cal checked her stomach and chest. He turned to Iain. "Possible broken ribs." He turned to Maddie. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Ok," Cal said. "I'm just going to check your head, and ask your some questions to see if your memory is ok." Maddie nodded. "Do you remember my name?" he asked as he shined a light into her eyes. Nod. "Can you tell me?"

"Uncle Cal," she replied.

"Good girl," Cal smiled, ignoring Iain's look of shock. "And where do I work?"

"At the hospital with Daddy."

"What is the name of your favourite teddy?"

"Caleb."

Cal chuckled. "Your head seems to be ok, but I'll check it properly at the hospital, ok?"

Maddie nodded, before asking, "Uncle Cal, where is Caleb?"

Cal looked at her. "Did you have him with you?"

"He was in my bag."

Iain saw a rucksack, and reached down to grab it. "Is this it?"

"Yeah, thanks, mate," Cal said as he took the bag. He opened it, took out a brown, fluffy monkey and gave it to his niece.

Iain watched the exchange with a slight smile. "Why did you call him 'Caleb'?" he asked.

"I gave it to her for her birthday," Cal told him.

"Daddy said it reminded him of Uncle Cal," Maddie said.

The sound of breaking broke their thoughts. The minibus was cut open. Iain looked at Cal. "I'm going to get the trolley."

Cal looked at Maddie. "Maddie, Sweetheart, I'm just going to try and move your arm from between seats. It's going to hurt, but I need you to try and be a brave girl for me, ok?"

Maddie nodded. Cal gently took her arm, and started to pull. Tears started to fill his eyes when he heard his niece starting to scream in pain. Finally, he managed to pull her arm free.

"There we go, Sweetheart," he cooed softly. "All done."

Iain came back with the trolley. "Cal, I need you to lift her through the window, and I'll take and put her on the trolley. Just be careful of the glass in her leg."

Cal nodded. "Ok, Maddie. I'm going to lift you up and pass you to Iain, then I'll climb out and we'll go find Daddy at the hospital." He carefully lifted her and passed the young girl to his colleague, before quickly climbing through the window, and rushed over to the ambulance as Iain settled the young girl in the back. "I'm going to give you something for the pain, ok?" Cal said to Maddie. "It's going to make you tired."

Iain watched as Cal gave Maddie the morphine. "I'm guessing she's Ethan's daughter," he said.

Cal looked at him. "Yeah."

"I didn't know he had a daughter," Iain said as the ambulance started to speed away.

"You know Ethan, he doesn't like people knowing about his private life."

"I noticed." He looks at Cal, and sees the fear and love he has for his niece. "She's gonna be ok. Everyone will make sure of it when they realise who her dad is."

"She better be ok," Cal replied quietly. "Cause if she's not, it's gonna destroy him. I nearly lost him once, and if something happens to her, I know I'll lose them both." He looks up at Iain. "I don't think I would cope."


	2. Chapter 2

They reached the ED, and quickly rushed inside. Connie and Robin rushed over to them.

"What've we got?" Connie asked.

"This is Maddie. She's five years old. She was sat in the front of a minibus during a head-on collision with a car," Cal told her. "She has a dislocated shoulder, there's broken glass embedded in her leg, and possibly broken ribs. She banged her head during the crash, but there doesn't appear to be any major injury." They pushed through the doors of Resus. "And can someone find me Ethan!"

Robin rushed out as Cal started to set up Maddie's monitors. Connie looked at him. "Is Dr Hardy really needed here?"

Cal looked back at her. "Trust me. He needs to be here." He turned to Maddie. "Maddie, this is my boss, Mrs Beauchamp. She's gonna help me look after you, ok?" Maddie nodded, and clutched her teddy tighter.

"Right, I'm just going to check your tummy," Connie told Maddie. "Maybe it would be best if we move your teddy." She reached to take the teddy.

"NO!" Maddie shouted, and hugged Caleb even tighter. "I want Daddy."

Connie looked at Cal. "Has her father been called?"

"He's on his way." He turned to Maddie. "Hey, Maddie, I've got an idea. Why don't I look after the monkey, and give him to Daddy when he gets here, ok?" Maddie nodded and let go of Caleb.

Cal took the monkey, as Connie began her assessment. The doors to Reses opened. Cal looked up as Ethan came in.

"Cal, Robyn said you needed me," Ethan said, as his brother walked over. "Do you need help with the young girl?" He looked down and saw Cal with the monkey. He frowned confusedly. "Why do you have Caleb?"

"I'm sorry, Ethan," Cal said honestly.

Ethan looked at him. "What for?" he asked. "Cal, what's going on?"

Cal sighed. "The school minibus, it was Maddie's class."

The younger brother gasped. "No," he muttered disbelievingly. "It can't be."

"I'm sorry," Cal said again, seeing the state of his brother. "Maddie was the one sitting in the front when it crashed."

Ethan stared at him before rushing towards the young girl. "Maddie," he said. Tears began to fill his eyes as he took in the sight of his injured daughter.

"Daddy," Maddie smiled.

"I'm here, Sweetheart," Ethan told her. He looked up at Connie, and ignoring her look of shock, he asked, "How bad is it?"

"Um," Connie said as she dealt with this unexpected revelation, before trying again. "She has a dislocated shoulder, and at a least two possible broken ribs. The most worrying injury is the glass in her leg. She will need a scan before we can remove it, to avoid causing damage to any major arteries."

Ethan nodded, before looking directly at his boss. "I want Cal to treat her."

"You know it's against protocol to treat family members," Connie argued. "Now that I know who she is, I can't allow him to continue treating her."

"I don't care about protocol," Ethan argued back. "She's my daughter, I need to know she's being cared for."

"I can assure you, she will get the best care there is."

"She's right, Eth," Cal said

Ethan turned to his big brother. "Please, Caleb," he quietly begged. "She knows you, she trusts you, and …" He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again, "… so do I."

Cal looked at his little brother, and heard the desperation in his voice. He looked at his niece, before turning back to Ethan. He nodded. "Ok," he said.

"Dr Knight," Connie said. "I strongly advise against this."

Cal turned to her. "I'm sorry, Mrs Beauchamp," he said, "but I have to."

"Fine," Connie finally said. "I can see there is nothing that will change your mind, so I will allow this, but I will be observing, and if I see the slightest bit of unprofessionalism you will be asked to leave. Is that clear?" Cal agreed. "Good. I'm going to call x-ray. I want her to be on constant observation."

"Got it," Cal said, as she walked away.

"Thank you, Cal," Ethan said.

"You should have a break," Cal told him

Ethan nodded. He turned to Maddie. "Hey, Maddie, Uncle Cal's going to look after you, ok?" Maddie nodded. "If you need just ask Uncle Cal, and he'll come and get me." He gently kissed the top of her head. "I love you."

"Love you, too, Daddy."

Ethan smiled at his daughter, then his brother, who gave him the teddy, before leaving Resus.

Cal turned to the young girl. "Are you ok, Sweetheart?"

Maddie nodded. She thought for a minute, before looking at her uncle. "Uncle Cal?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to look after Daddy as well?" she asked.

Cal frowned at her. "Does Daddy need looking after?"

The five year old nodded. "He has scratches on his arms," she told her uncle. "He looks at them, and gets sad."

Cal smiled at her reassuringly. "Of course I'll look after him." He saw her struggling to stay awake. "You should sleep, Sweetheart."

"You should be with your brother." Cal looked behind him to see his boss. "I'm sure one of the nurses won't mind staying with her."

Cal nodded, kissed the top of his niece's head, and left.

* * *

He walked into reception and leant against the desk as he tried to calm the overwhelming emotions.

"Dr Knight," a voice said from behind him.

Cal glanced over his shoulder and saw Dr Chao watching him. "Whatever it is, Lily, I'm not in the mood," he told her.

"I want to talk to you about your brother," Lily said insistently.

"What about him?"

"I was merely trying to ask for his opinion on a patient," Lily said, "and for no reason he became aggressive."

"Ethan?" Noel asked, overhearing their conversation.

Lily ignored him as she carried on watching Cal. "I must insist you speak to him. I refuse to be spoken to like that."

Cal sighed. "Lily, will you just give it a rest. He's having a difficult shift."

"We all have difficult shifts, but the way he is behaving is unprofessional."

"Enough, Lily!" Cal yelled. Reception went silent. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with this."

"Well, someone has to, or I'll take it to Mrs Beauchamp."

Cal finally lost it, not caring who was listening. He stared at her with fire in his eyes. "There is a five year old girl in Resus, who was severely injured because of some drunk bastard, who clearly thought more of booze than the lives of innocent children. I'm furious just thinking about what happened, but I doubt that's anything compared to how Ethan's feeling."

Lily looked confused. "And what has this accident got to do with your brother?"

Cal looked around and saw staff and patients watching. He sighed before saying loudly for everyone around him to hear, "That young girl in Resus, her name is Madeline Hardy." Gasps were heard from his colleagues. "She's Ethan daughter. My niece." He looked at Lily. "So, next you have an opinion, keep it to yourself. Now, I need to find my brother." He turned to leave.

"I saw him in the staffroom," Robyn said.

Cal smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Could you keep an eye on her for me?"

"Sure," Robyn replied.

* * *

Cal headed towards the staffroom but was stopped by Dr Hanna. "Cal, I heard about your niece. How is she?"

"She's ok for now," Cal replied.

"And how's Ethan?"

"I was just on my way to find him."

"Right, well before you do, I need your help with a patient," Zoe said.

Cal sighed. "Can't it wait? Today's been bad enough without all the extra drama, and right now I just want to make sure Ethan is ok."

"It shouldn't take long," she told him. "Then you can spend the rest of your shift with your family if you want."

"Fine. Let's get it over with."

They walked together towards cubicles.

* * *

As they entered, Zoe turned to Cal. "Given the circumstances, I probably shouldn't be asking you to do this, but everyone else is busy."

"Why?"

"It's the driver of the car."

Cal stopped dead. "Zoe, the bastard could've killed my niece, and now you're asking me to treat him?"

"I'm not asking you to treat him," Zoe said. "I just need your help to find out who he is. When he was brought in, he had no ID on him, and he's refusing to tell us his name."

Cal took a breath before releasing it slowly. "Ok. Where he is?"

Zoe pointed towards a bed surrounded by a curtain. Cal walked over and took another breath before opening it. He looked at the man sitting on the bed, and gasped, instantly recognising him.

"You!"


End file.
